after five years of professional journalism, i decided to hang it up and go back to law school. the good news? i saved enough to pay for my first year all through the stock market. i would i would never have been able to make enough had i just kept it in a saving account. and by the way, let's be clear, an index fund would have made me nothing, nothing at all. if you want to go and get started, go small. invest in what you know. research it intensely. back then, i got old data from the public library. now information is free, ubiquitous. including up to the minute financials, analyst presentations, conference calls that i tell ur are musts if you're going to know what you are doing. simple? no. lucrative? you bet it is. kiann in new york. >> caller: hi, jim-bo. >> yo. >> caller: general question for you. what could be considered a good rate of return on investment and does it differ depending on asset class? >> i think you're measured against bonds. if you can get something, say, twice the risk free rate and get a good tax rate on it, in other words, like you have a reduced tax